Return of the Forgotten
by Toothless-Nightfury96
Summary: After discovering the dragons' nest with Astrid, Hiccup plans on how to save his village from the constant dragon raids; even if that plan leads him to leaving home altogether.
1. What to Do

**NEW STORY!**

 **I'm sorry in advance for the shorter chapter, I just wanted to set the tone (so to speak).**

 **This story starts off after visiting the Dragon's Nest for the first time in the first HTTYD.**

 **Enjoy!**

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"No no, it totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers, and that's their Queen. It controls them," says Astrid as she and Hiccup land in a cove, blanketed by moonlight. She dismounts the large, black dragon that Hiccup had named Toothless. The two young Vikings had just witnessed the source of the dragon raids that attack their village of Berk; a giant dragon's nest, with a giant dragon in the centre of the volcano giving the orders to raid villages for food. Astrid hits the ground on her two feet and looks up at the small boy who just changed her view of dragons entirely. "Let's find your dad," she continues as she starts to make her way towards the cove's exit; Hiccup quickly dismounts the large dragon known as a Night Fury and runs up to her.

"No, no. Not yet. They'll kill Toothless, Astrid we have to think this through carefully," responds Hiccup nervously. He had spent the last few weeks with the Night Fury after ironically shooting it down in a dragon raid. Dragons were sworn pests and devils that attacked Berk and any dragon seen would be killed on sight. He turns his back towards Astrid, contemplating what he should do.

Astrid stops and turns towards the small boy, who mere hours ago, she had disdain for. "Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons' nest. The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here. And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon, are you serious?!"

Hiccup turns to face Astrid, his childhood crush, with a stern look on his face. "Yes." It sounded even ridiculous to him and he turned away to hide his face from Astrid. Hiccup cast all feelings aside; the life of his best friend mattered more than some crush.

Astrid's face turns from serious to sorrow. Here was this sorry excuse for a Viking and he just showed her the most determination she has ever seen from him. "Okay," says Astrid. "Then what do we do?"

Hiccup's head falls down in sorrow; he watches Toothless walk over to the water's edge for a drink. "I don't know." His mind is full of emotion. He doesn't want to betray his friend, but he also doesn't want to betray his tribe; especially his father who just so happened to be the Chief.

Astrid walks up to Hiccup. "That's not a good enough answer, Hiccup. Your final exam is tomorrow, you're going to have to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. You don't have a lot of time to decide." Hiccup just shrugs his shoulders with his back still turned to her. Astrid grabs his arm and turns him to face her. "We're in this together Hiccup. I want to help you," says Astrid in a sweet voice. "Personally, I still think we should see your dad."

"You know how stubborn he is. He will think I sided with the dragons or that Toothless possessed me or something. Regardless what happens, blood will be drawn."

"All Vikings are stubborn Hiccup, yet you still convinced me."

"Maybe because you're young and more accepting of change," scoffs Hiccup. He looks down at his feet.

Astrid bends her knees and looks up at Hiccup to get his attention. "You're right; I am more accepting of change. I want change to happen. I want to live in Berk with no fear of dragons ripping my head off at any time. That flight with Toothless was amazing; I want my own dragon so I can experience that again." Astrid pauses. "Hiccup, do you think the raids will stop if the Queen were to fall?"

Hiccup looks up at Astrid. "It's a possibility. I could fly back to the nest tonight with Toothless and take out the Queen and-"

"No! Hiccup, that's suicide. I'm not letting you do that," interrupts Astrid. "Please Hiccup, there has to be another way; one where you stay on Berk," pleas Astrid.

"Astrid, if I stay on Berk I will have to kill the Nightmare tomorrow. You of all people know that I don't want to do that. I don't even know how to kill a dragon, all I know is how to subdue them."

"Then don't kill the dragon tomorrow, subdue it and show the village that dragons aren't what they think they are," says Astrid.

"If I do that, they'll exile me and ship me off the island," retorts Hiccup.

"I'll make sure they don't do that," defends Astrid.

"They'll exile both of us then," deadpans Hiccup. 'Not that it's a bad thing,' says Hiccup in his mind. Little did he know, Astrid was thinking the same thing. Hiccup turns and looks up at the moon. Astrid looks at her young childhood crush and how the moonlight reflects off of his emerald eyes. She doesn't want to tell him how she felt about him years ago, or how she feels about him now. Hiccup sighs and looks back at Astrid. "I'll think of something, but I'm still debating on taking down the Queen."

Astrid steps forward again, reducing the distance between them to merely a foot. "Hiccup, don't go. Please, for the love of Odin, don't go. Promise me that you'll stay on Berk."

Hiccup looks down at his feet before looking back at Astrid. "I promise."

"Good," says Astrid with slight satisfaction. She pauses before punching him in the arm, making him stagger. "That's for kidnapping me." Hiccup rubs his arm and looks back at Toothless who is looking back and shrugs. He turns back to see Astrid standing nervously. She pushes her bangs out of her left eye and grabs him by the collar of his tunic and pulls him in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "That's for," she pauses and nervously looks at him before looking away again, trying to hide her blush. "Everything else." She turns and runs up to the cove's exit.

Hiccup stands there flabbergasted as Toothless walks up beside him and looks at the boy with huge green eyes. "W-What are you looking at?" stammers Hiccup.

Hiccup waits until he can no longer see Astrid before turning back to Toothless. "Well bud, I think we should at least do some reconnaissance about the nest and the Queen. What do you say?" Toothless warbles in a way that sounds like a 'No'. "Come on Toothless, what's the worst that can happen? We'll be back well before first light, don't you worry." Hiccup mounts Toothless and looks the entrance of the cove to make sure Astrid wasn't present. "I'm sorry Astrid, but it has to be done. So we know what we're in for," he says quietly even though Toothless is the only one there to hear it. The Night Fury stretches its body and then both he and Hiccup take off into the night sky at breakneck speeds.

Astrid meanwhile is running out of the forest and back into her village. Her mind is racing with things like 'I just flew on a _Night Fury_ and it didn't kill me,' or 'So that's how Hiccup got so good at dragon training,' or 'I just kissed Hiccup on the cheek, what the Hel is wrong with me?' She hurries through the courtyard near the forge and avoids any Vikings doing night patrol. She quietly enters her home and makes her way to her room where she gently gets into bed. She can't seem to fall asleep; her heart is pounding and her mind is racing. Astrid cannot get the feeling of freedom that flying on a dragon gave her, it was exhilarating! After what felt like hours of tossing and turning, she finds a position where she can calm her breathing and ease herself to sleep.

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 **Well what do you think?**

 **Let me know in a review!**

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	2. Reconnaissance

**Hello Everyone, Chapter 2 is now out!**

 **It is a Hiccup/Toothless Chapter, Next chapter will be an Astrid chapter.**

 **Just so you know, I have to balance this story with two others that I'm writing. I'm just rotating the stories so to speak.**

 **If this is the first story you have read of mine, here is how I do things regarding reviews:**

 **1) User reviews [That don't involve cryptic two word sentences such as 'PLEASE UPDATE'] I shall answer to via PM. They are called reviews for a reason...**

 **2) Guest reviews [Again that are not two word reviews] will be answered in the Author Notes section at the beginning of each chapter.**

 **3) I will try to answer each and every single User Review regardless of how old the chapter/story is.**

 **4) I will only answer Guest Reviews written prior to the following chapter release**

 **That being said: GUEST REVIEWS!**

 **Guest 1: I don't intend to spoil the story or how Astrid and Hiccup will end up. You will have to wait and see.**

 **Guest 2: Everyone has their own take on this type of story, and you seem to like it. I hope you stick through to the end.**

 **Reviews over; enjoy Chapter 2!**

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The moon reaches its apex in the sky and shines its full light across the entire Barbaric Archipelago. The waters are calm and the skies are clear; mostly clear. Only the sharpest of eyes can see a fast moving black speck flying across the sky. Hiccup leans down onto Toothless, making them more streamline in the air. Toothless warbles nervously as they fly towards the infamous Helheim's Gate. "I know you don't want to go back there so soon, we barely made it out with our lives," says Hiccup. He pats the dragon to hopefully calm it down. "I don't want to go back there either but we have to do this. Berk's life depends on it. I don't know how much more the village can take from the dragons. Eventually we'll be thrown from our homes." Toothless slows down as Hiccup sits upright in the saddle. The fly under the same aurora that was present during Hiccup's and Astrid's romantic flight mere hours ago. "At least I have Astrid on my side." He pauses. "Better than no one I suppose."

"How am I supposed to break this news to my father," wonders Hiccup out loud. He scoffs. "I could always say I found a dragon, chained it up and forced it to work for me." He laughs at Toothless' discomfort. "Yeah right. I could also be blunt about it and say 'Look Dad, I decided to abandon the village and live among the dragons. Its better this way,'" says Hiccup while exaggerating his own voice. He sighs and looks up at the aurora. "I can't believe Astrid was so… accepting of all this. I expected her to put up more of a fight. Oh well I can't complain, it went smoother than I thought." He reaches down at pets Toothless. "Speaking of which, thank you for not trying to kill both of us," he says sarcastically. "I'm also sorry that I called you a 'useless reptile', you just didn't trust her; I understand that." In front of the flying duo is a massive cloud of fog; blanketing the water underneath. "Well bud, here we are."

Hiccup and Toothless enter the fog, much to Toothless's discomfort. They start to weave in between the sea stacks the litter the area. Hiccup pulls out his notebook and starts to plot where the pillars of stone were and which areas were wider for the ships to sail through. Hiccup would mutter things like 'No', and 'Too narrow', and 'Too shallow'. Throughout the group of stacks are ruins of numerous Viking ships burnt and blown to Valhalla. Many Vikings died during these thoughtless attacks over the centuries. Who was to blame? The Vikings or the Dragons? The Dragons took food and killed those who tried to stop them. Vikings on the other hand didn't ask questions like why; they just attacked without any thought; cause and effect maybe. Finally Hiccup and Toothless find an opening in the stacks wide enough to fit ships through easily. "It's just a maze," Hiccup whispers. "No wonder so many ships got destroyed; they get lost in the fog and the dragons just defend their home without effort." Toothless flies as slowly as he can while Hiccup draws a crude map. "Alright so once the ships enter through here, they should turn left after the fifth pillar and then immediately hug the left side without scraping it." He draws an X to symbolize the pillar and the pages in the book at dotted with them. He draws an arrow to represent the path that should be taken. "After nine pillars on the left side, take a sharp right," he mutters as he scribbles. "Keep going straight and turn left after the third pillar following the hanging burnt ship on the right side. Keep going straight and…" he pauses. Toothless and Hiccup breach the fog and were facing the volcano housing the giant Queen monstrosity. "We're here," are the only words out of Hiccup's mouth.

Hiccup and Toothless fly around the mountain in search of a weak spot in the rock face or a better place to land a fleet of Viking ships. "Pretty quiet actually," mutters Hiccup. "Dragons have to sleep too." The duo circles the entire island quite easily and quickly. Toothless lands on one of the sea stacks so he can rest; Hiccup remains in the saddle. "Alright," starts Hiccup. Toothless coos as if he can understand Hiccup perfectly. "We're going to need I think 16 ships. The largest two will be hidden at the opposite end of the island in case things go bad. A few Vikings will stand guard to make sure the dragons don't get any ideas. The remaining 14 ships will carry most of the men and the catapults needed to breach the rock face in that area." He points to the wall of the mountain facing where the ships would be leaving the fog. There are some cracks and boulders piling up in that area. "You and I can cover from the air, assuming my Dad will somehow be willing to go with this plan, while the men on the ground will take care of the dragons and lure out the Queen. Once she's out, we shall give her everything we have. Hopefully that will be enough to kill her." He pauses at the thought of actually having to kill a dragon the size of the mountain he faces. "However, none of this can happen if we don't find the weak spot in that wall over there." Toothless rears up for a short glide to the stone beach below. "Let's go."

Toothless lands on the pebbles the cover the shore of the Dragons' Nest. Hiccup dismounts and walks up the side of the volcano; the pebbles moving with every step he takes. "Never thought I would be here in my life; let alone planning for an invasion," he mutters to himself. He rasps his knuckles along various points in the cracks that cover the stone. He is trying to hear for a hollow sound, indicating a weak spot. Eventually he knocks his knuckles on a large crack and he can clearly hear an echo on the other side. "Toothless, do you mind if you burn the stone in this area?" Toothless walks over and burns a large black mark on where Hiccup requested; a target for the catapult operators. "Thanks bud," says Hiccup proudly. He mounts the dragon and prepares to take off. "Now we can go home." Before Toothless can lift off, a plethora of squawks, screeches, and roars echo throughout the nest. Dragons began to pour out of holes in the mountain and make a beeline towards the intruders. "Time to go bud," says Hiccup loudly in Toothless' ear.

The Night Fury takes off with the army of possessed dragons in tow. A deafening roar echoes throughout Helheim's Gate; the Queen is awake! Dragons began to fire at the Night Fury and Human companion. Monstrous Nightmare fire is close enough to burn Hiccup to a crisp, Deadly Nadder spines are nearly grazing his ears, Gronckle blasts are flying over Hiccup's head and enough Hideous Zippleback gas is present to make anyone pass out from nausea alone. "GET US OUT OF HERE TOOTHLESS!" yells Hiccup. The Night Fury begins to burst forward with speed but is restricted due to the intricate system that makes his prosthetic tailfin flap in the wind. Hiccup wishes he spent more time refining his design to make Toothless as fast as possible with his handicap.

Toothless begins to turn towards Berk but Hiccup stops him. "No Toothless we can't, Berk will be decimated with all of these dragons." He turns the Night Fury to fly away from Berk, hoping the dragons will follow; which they do, with haste. Hiccup and Toothless are far away from the island, yet the dragons continue to hunt after them. Hiccup controlled Toothless' tailfin in many intricate, acrobatic moves to protect him from the barrage of attacks. "STOP FOLLOWING ME! GO BACK HOME!" yells Hiccup to the other dragons, hoping that they will leave him alone. Not surprisingly, they continue to follow. The skies begin to cloud over and the wind suddenly picks up speed. Hiccup looks back at the hundreds of dragons, some of them start turning back. "That's it bud, we're almost clear." Hiccup looks up and sees a massive vortex of water form in front of him. "Odin's ghost," he says awestruck. The pursuing dragons flee leaving the human and dragon duo behind. "Alright Toothless they're gone. Let's head back home before the first LIGHT!" screams Hiccup as a powerful gust of wind knocks the two closer to the vortex. "Come on Toothless, we can get out of here!" yells Hiccup over the sound of the storm. Hiccup pauses to think 'This might be it.' Toothless looks back at Hiccup in worry; he doesn't have enough strength to break free of the vortex's pull. Hiccup looks down at his dragon companion in sorrow and looks back in the direction he thinks is Berk. "I'm sorry Dad, I'm sorry Astrid." Hiccup hears a loud crunch and looks behind him to see that the prosthetic tailfin has ripped free from the assembly. Toothless roars and Hiccup screams as both fly haphazardly into the vortex.

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 **Chapter 2 is complete!**

 **What did you think of the chapter?**

 **Let me know in a review!**

 **You Are Awesome!**


	3. Where's Hiccup?

**Hello Everyone, Chapter 3 is out!**

 **Sorry for the long wait, writer's block...**

 **No guest reviews so uh... Enjoy the chapter!**

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Astrid struggled to stay asleep. The light came in through the window and the cracks in the wood of her room. She barely got any sleep last night, but it was worth it in her mind. She spent the night dreaming of the flight from the night before, how _beautiful_ it was. Hiccup is really something; he had the nerve and audacity to search for a new solution to a 300 year old problem. She couldn't help but think of the Chief's son and the Night Fury. How those two bonded would be unknown, except to Astrid. What Hiccup lacked in physical prowess, he made up for in smarts, soul, and compassion. He sympathized for the injured dragon; a bond was formed; a damn near unbreakable one at that. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. After some thought and effort, Astrid rises from her slumber and walks slowly to the main hall of her house.

She walks in on her parents eating food. "Morning sweetie," calls Ingrid, Astrid's mother. "You must have been up late last night, we didn't hear you come in or go to bed." Astrid froze, she couldn't think of an excuse for her absence. She wasn't exactly going to say that she was _flying_ on a _Night Fury_ with the Chief's son.

"You must have been _really_ angry yesterday. How many trees did you butcher this time?" added Halvar, her father.

"Wha-?" Astrid was confused by her father's words when it clicked. "Oh, honestly I uh, lost count…" she chuckles quietly.

"Ah, don't beat yourself up Astrid. Hiccup is Stoick's son after all; he had to show through the boy eventually. He deserves the title, he is the heir after. I was worried that he wouldn't be a good chief." He starts chuckling loudly. "I was worried that we would have to announce Snotlout as Chief," laughs Halvar. Ingrid shoots him a glare. "And I'm shutting up now…."

"Point is Astrid, don't beat yourself up. You will get it next time," says Ingrid while smiling. Truthfully Astrid wasn't even mad anymore; her emotions have been turned on their heads since the flight with Hiccup. Speaking of Hiccup, she wants to see what his plan is.

"Thanks Mom and Dad." She smiles and her parents look relieved. "I'm going to the Great Hall to get something to eat, I'll see you later." Her parents wave as she runs out of her door. In the plaza, she sees Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut standing around and talking. She's too far to hear what they're saying so she walks up to them. As she gets closer, she can make out certain words and phrases like 'Hiccup' and 'Stoick' and 'missing' and 'last night'. "Hey guys, what are you up to?" she asks as she approaches the group.

"Wondering where Hiccup might be," says Snotlout.

"What do you mean? Is he missing?" asks Astrid.

"Yeah, Stoick said Hiccup wasn't home when he woke up this morning," responds Fishlegs. Astrid's heart dropped in her chest.

"I think he chickened out," jokes Tuffnut. Everyone glares at him.

"Why would he chicken out? He is the best of the six of us," chimes Fishlegs. "No offense Astrid," he mutters. Astrid doesn't even shoot him a glare, she is still thinking of the possible situations in her mind. "I think he is out training somewhere, he does have to kill a Monstrous Nightmare today." Everyone nods in agreement.

"Astrid, there you are. We've been looking all over for you." She turns to see Stoick and Gobber walking up towards her. Her heart doubles its beating.

"What do you need me for sir?" she asks.

"According to Mrs. Ack, she saw Hiccup enter the forest shortly after you entered the forest. There is a very good possibility that you saw him last night. So I am asking you, did you or did you not see my son last night?" interrogates Stoick.

"No sir," she runs off her mouth before she can stop herself. "I was out killing trees yesterday; I didn't want to be with anyone last night." If her heartbeat wasn't racing, it was now. She just lied to her Chief. If caught, she could be exiled.

"Alright then." Stoick returns his attention to the entire group. "I want you five to split up and search the island. Hiccup's final exam is in an hour, I don't want him to disappoint me again by being late." He turns with Gobber in tow and both walk away towards the Great Hall.

The boys separated and went different ways, leaving Astrid and Ruffnut there. Astrid was too entrenched in thought that she jumped when Ruffnut broke the silence between them. "Were trees the only thing you were killing last night?"

"What?" responds Astrid.

"You heard me Hofferson. You were pissed yesterday when it was announced that Hiccup would kill the dragon. If what Stoick said was true-"

"Are you suggesting that I killed Hiccup?!" whispered Astrid.

"You said it, not me."

"I didn't kill Hiccup Ruff, I never saw him yesterday," she deadpans.

"Then where is your axe?"

"My what?" Astrid's mind starts running again.

"Your axe dummy, it's not on your back. That thing is attached to your hip; you never leave home without it," states Ruffnut.

Instinctively, Astrid reaches to here back where there is no axe to be found. Her mind races again, this time to the cove, where Hiccup threw her axe away to protect Toothless. It was still there. "Oh that's right, I threw my axe too hard at a tree, and I was too tired to pull it out. I'll be going back to get it today; matter of fact, I'll go right now." Astrid runs as fast as she can towards the forest. She hopes that Ruffnut was only kidding, but if she starts a rumour in which that Astrid _killed the heir_ , she would be killed by the Chief if people believed it. Astrid breached the tree line and bolted down the path towards the cove, the same thought going through her mind: 'Please be sleeping or training.'

She kept running, her muscles were aching but it didn't matter. How would she explain to the Chief that Hiccup left on the back of a Night Fury without putting the blame on herself as well? She didn't want to disown her family, but she didn't want to disown Hiccup's either. She kept hoping that she wouldn't have to make such a decision. She went down the path, near the gouge in the ground where she assumes Toothless crash landed on that night. 'Okay, but I hit a Night Fury,' kept ringing through her head. He was telling the truth for Thor's sake, however no one believed him since he was the village screw-up. _Was_ that is.

She made her way down to the border of the cove. She made her way to the shield stuck between the boulders, who knows how Hiccup got it stuck like that? She jumps over the wood object and enters the vacant cove. "No. No, no, no, no," she stammers quickly. "Hiccup?" she starts calling loudly. There, to no surprise, was no answer. The wind and her screaming were the only noises in the forest. 'Hiccup, you idiot; where did you go?" She franticly runs around the cove for an idea as to where the duo went. The place was obvious as she visited it last night: Helheim's Gate. She searches the sky for any sign of a Night Fury flying around. Unaware to her, her breathing is rushed and her heart is pounding in her chest. Panic had turned to anxiety. What if they were attacked at the nest? What if something bad happened?

Hiccup was gone a long time. He should have been back a long time ago. Something terrible must have happened to him. Or did he betray his village? No he couldn't do that, he was heir to the throne of his village. He wouldn't side with the dragons after knowing the cause of the raids. Would he? "Hiccup," mutters Astrid. "Wherever you are you stupid fool, come back home. Let me know that you're safe." She has to come up with a plan. She needs someone to trust for this type of thing. Fishlegs came to mind, he seemed trustworthy enough. She just needed to test him. Astrid turns to leave the cove when she notices her axe lying on the ground. She picks it up without any thought, and races to leave the cove.

Running out of the forest back into the village, Astrid is stopped by Ruffnut. "Astrid, where in Hel's realm have you been?"

"I was looking for my axe." Astrid shows it to Ruffnut. "See, no blood. I didn't kill Hiccup, you happy?"

"I was kidding you fool! Dragon killer you are; Viking killer, not so much." Ruffnut looks exhausted as if she was searching for hours when it only has been about 15 minutes. "Forget about that, Chief has called off the search. Didn't you hear Bucket screaming?"

"He called off the search! Why would he do that? Hiccup is still out there somewhere!"

"Astrid, there is a storm coming. Stoick wants us to tough it out in the Great Hall, we have to go now before it's too late!"

Astrid looks up. In her panic, she never took to detail of the sky. It had quickly clouded over and the winds have picked up significantly. She looked towards the ocean and in which way the clouds were coming in. The darkest clouds, charged with Thor's Wrath were coming in quickly. Astrid's eyes go wide and her mind flashes images of Hiccup. The clouds are coming straight from the direction, of Helheim's Gate.

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 **End of Chapter**

 **What did you think of this chapter? Let me know in a review.**

 **Side note: Yes, I know it never stormed on the day Hiccup took his final exam in the movie. Parallel universe, it rained that day. Who knew?**

 **Another side note: I'm sorry if this chapter is kind of confusing, I wanted to write this chapter in a way that would seem like you were in Astrid's head. Like several thoughts are rushing quickly, that sort of thing. I'm sorry if you had a hard time reading it.**

 **Anyway, you guys are Awesome! :)**

 **The Chicken is Not Amused**


	4. Where Am I?

**Hello everyone, Chapter 4 is FINALLY OUT!**

 **I am so sorry that it took this long to release, I was taking a holiday last week and then I got writer's block so I couldn't think of what to add.**

 **Anyway no Guest Reviews for this chapter.**

 **Side Note:**

 **"Norse Dialogue"  
" _English Dialogue_ "**

 **Enjoy!**

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The sun rises just above the horizon, the skies are clear in all directions as if there was never a storm. Waves crash against the sandy beaches. Toothless lies on the damp sand, holding Hiccup in his legs to keep the boy from drowning. Hiccup is unconscious, but fortunately alive. The two seem to have left the storm with barely any injuries, just some minor scrapes and bruises. Toothless shimmies up out of the water and onto the warm sand, dropping Hiccup before moving around and nudging the boy. After some time, Hiccup finally comes too. He sits up with some pain, albeit minor, and he rubs his eyes. Toothless looks impatient and giddy; happy to see that his rider is alive. "Hey Toothless," says Hiccup weakly. He chuckles. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too bud." He looks over Toothless before looking at what is left of the tailfin rigging. "That was one Hel of a storm, wasn't it bud? Loki must have had his share in its creation." He looks around. "Well judging by the fact that I'm in pain, I am safe to assume that we are alive. If this is Valhalla, it's quite boring to say the least."

Both Hiccup and Toothless turn their attention to the tree line. "Now, where exactly are we?" Toothless shrugs. "Right, I'm expecting an answer from a dragon," mutters Hiccup who gets a playful slap upside the head from Toothless' good tailfin. "Well, I might as well check it out. Toothless, in case this island is inhabited, you might want to hide. Who knows how these people will react to dragons." Toothless seems to have understand what Hiccup said because he bolted towards a large tree before climbing up it to hide. Hiccup starts walking through the trees, hoping to find something that could help him. The small forest didn't seem very hostile, only birds inhabited the arboreal home. "Oh the gods hate me," mutters Hiccup. "I have no idea where I am, my dragon can't fly, Berk is probably in chaos trying to find me, and Astrid is probably cursing every god she can think of. Oh I should have just listened to her; I should have never left Berk." He pauses. "And if I stayed, I would have had to kill the dragon," groans Hiccup. "There is no winning for me, is there Loki?" mutters Hiccup.

Hiccup then stumbles through a treeline and onto a path… made of stone. He looks to his right and a good distance away he can see the ocean and _docks!_ He looks to his left and he can see houses and people; he has found civilization! "Man, am I glad I left Toothless back there," he mutters. "Hopefully no one finds him." Hiccup continues walking down the path and into the village. There were people everywhere in this village, and most shocking to him, the people weren't the size of mountains. If Hiccup grew a couple inches, he could have blended in perfectly. This people couldn't have been taller than six feet. Walking around, he quickly understood this place to be a market of some kind. People were buying food, talking, laughing; just having a good time and enjoying life. There is one thing that was worrying him; he couldn't understand a word anyone was saying. There was one sound that was like music to his ears: the sound of a hammer pounding on an anvil. He looked around and saw that down a path was a forge. Hiccup didn't waste any time running towards it.

Fortunately for him, there was no line so he walked right up to the counter. He saw the blacksmith in the back part of the forge hammering a small, weird looking piece of metal. Clearly it wasn't a weapon and as Hiccup took a closer look around the forge, there were not many weapons at all. Most of the things hanging on the walls were tools. Sure there was the odd sword, but no maces or hammers for clubbing. Sure there were axes, but they looked designed to cut down trees, not decapitate dragons. Hiccup clears his throat in an attempt to catch the attention of the blacksmith, to no avail. "Uh, excuse me?" he calls to which the blacksmith finally notices his presence. He puts down what he was working on and walks to the counter.

" _Something I can help you with boy?"_ asks the blacksmith.

Hiccup's heart drops into his stomach. He couldn't understand a word the man was saying. "Uh, I doubt that you can understand me. Can you tell me where I am?"

The blacksmith looks confused. " _A foreigner huh? Sorry kid, I don't understand what you're saying."_ The blacksmith pauses before holding up a finger, if as to say 'Hold on a minute'. He runs off to a desk in the forge and pulls out a piece of paper and a charcoal pencil. He walks back to the counter and starts scribbling on the paper. To Hiccup's astonishment, he was drawing a crude map. " _I don't speak your tongue, but I know someone that does."_ He draws a line like a path around the building and places an 'X' on one of them. He hands the paper to Hiccup who looks at him in a confused look.

The blacksmith starts imitating talking with his hand while pointing to both Hiccup and the 'X' on the map. Sure he looked like a fool, but it was the only thing that could overcome the language barrier. "Will this lead me to someone who will understand me?" asks Hiccup. The black smith looks confused. "Never mind," he points to the spot on the map marked by the smithy. "Thank you," says Hiccup while slightly bowing to show his gratitude before walking off with map in hand.

" _I take that as a thank you, so you're welcome,"_ says the blacksmith.

Hiccup starts following the map around the village. The marked building wasn't too far from the forge, but the only thing Hiccup had to go by was a crude map drawn by a stranger. He makes a left at the closest intersection, and then a right at the next. "Hopefully this will lead me to somewhere friendly and not the village's prison," mutters Hiccup. "Hopefully Toothless is okay," he continues as he walks up to the building marked on the map. It looks like a tavern. "Thank Thor; it's not a prison." Hiccup walks inside to a relatively empty tavern. Being early in the day meant that most people were working. The only people in here are those with nothing better to do. Hiccup walks up the bar where the bartended is stacking clean mugs for tonight.

The man behind the counter notices him. " _What do you want kid?"_ he growls with a raspy voice.

"Does anyone here speak Norse?" asks Hiccup sheepishly.

"Oh a foreign boy, I knew you did not look familiar," responds the heavily accented bartender to which Hiccup breathes a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank the gods," says Hiccup with excitement.

"I'm sorry boy, my Norse is not good," he responds sadly.

"Hey, that's okay. It's the most progress I made all day so far!" Hiccup sits down on a stool next to him.

"What are you doing here?" asks the bartender bluntly. Hiccup didn't take any offense to it.

"I was…" Hiccup pauses. What lie was he going to tell the bartender? "Shipwrecked. There was that horrible storm and I got caught in it. I'm surprised I am still alive," continues Hiccup, hoping to make a convincing lie. Hopefully the man didn't see through it.

"I see. Storm was very bad yesterday, yes? What happened to boat?"

"It turned over," tells Hiccup. He has to make himself sound less sophisticated to make sure the man understood. Hiccup was explaining using his gestures, a common sight back of Berk. Speaking of Berk… "Where am I?"

"Home," says the man.

"What is your home called?"

"I… do not know the name in Norse."

"Oh, that's too bad," responds Hiccup sadly.

"Do you have bed for tonight?" Hiccup shakes his head 'No'. "We have empty beds; do you have money for one?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have any money."

"Then I cannot help you, I'm sorry," says the bartender bluntly with ferocity in his voice.

"Sir, if you please give me the chance. I am far from home-" pleads Hiccup before being interrupted.

"No, I am sorry." He points to the door. "Get out." Hiccup slowly gets up from the stool and makes his way to the door with his head hanging down. Hiccup has nothing, and was now being kicked out by the only person who speaks Norse in the village. As Hiccup leaves, he gains the attention of a man sitting in a corner of the room.

Hiccup walks out of the dark tavern and into the bright street. He might as well go back and find Toothless. "Well this is great, just great," he mutters as he slowly walks towards the forest. "Oh the gods really must hate me." Hiccup is too carried away in his self-pity to hear someone coming up behind him.

"Hey kid, wait up a second." Hiccup's heart jumps to his throat. The voice is different from the bartender's and somewhat more calming. He turns to see a young man, not much older than him running up to him from the tavern. "Sorry about what happened in there, David isn't exactly the friendliest man in the world," chuckles the man.

"You speak Norse too?" Hiccup is dumbfounded by the new face.

The man laughs. "I'm pretty sure I'm speaking Norse," jokes the man. "Yeah, it's pretty sad that the only local that speaks Norse is also the village's resident grouch."

Hiccup laughs before realising something. "You don't live here?" he asks.

"Well I do, to a degree, but I wasn't born here. I was born way up North, but I spent a good portion of my life living here. I'm sure you have a lot of questions and I would be happy to answer them, on the condition that I get your name."

"Hiccup," he says before he can even think about it. 'If this man speaks Norse fluently, he could be from the Barbaric Archipelago, and if he does, he could know of me,' panics Hiccup.

"Ah a true Nord, the whole hideous name to ward off gnomes and trolls, eh?" chuckles the man. "I know of the legend, don't you worry. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, I have heard the name Hiccup before, but not in a long time."

"Was it me?" jokes Hiccup before he can stop himself.

"I doubt it," responds the man. "Speaking of names, you may call me Jürgen." Jürgen wasn't much taller than Hiccup, only by a few inches. He couldn't have been older than 19 or 20. He had blond hair that was braided and tied in the back, and blueish-grey eyes that pierced like daggers but were calming at the same time. He had short blond facial hair that wasn't scruffy or patchy and Hiccup knew that in a few years, Jürgen would have to start braiding it.

"You kind of look like someone I know," blurts Hiccup before slapping his hand over his mouth.

Jürgen chuckles. "Yeah, I get that a lot, believe me. Anyway, walk with me, and I will answer any question you might have."

The two start walking towards the forest. "Well first off, where am I?"

"Welcome to England, Hiccup. This entire island is part of one country and it goes farther than the eye can see."

"I've read stories of the place, but no one ever talks about it."

"Ah that's probably because Vikings don't sail this far south, hence no stories for people to tell." Jürgen pauses. "Speaking of which, what are you doing so far south? You said something along the line of 'shipwrecked'. What happened to the rest of your crew?"

"Uh… they all perished. I am the only survivor," Hiccup says sheepishly.

"You're not a very good liar, are you?" jokes Jürgen. "Seriously, losing an entire crew of seaworthy Vikings in a storm and the smallest person survives? I would've thought that they could at least avoid the storm." To Hiccup's surprise, he doesn't seem the least aggravated.

"Y-yeah, you caught me. I was the only one on the vessel."

"Only you on a large seaworthy ship?" half jokes Jürgen.

"It was a small boat, more like a dingy," chuckles Hiccup.

"I know that you're still lying to me Hiccup, but I get it. You don't trust me and I understand."

Hiccup breathes a sigh of relief. "Thanks for understanding Jürgen."

"It's not a problem really." Hiccup finally notices that Jürgen has a slight accent but it's still very close to his own. "Can I ask you one thing though, Hiccup?" Hiccup nods. "What are you doing so far from your home? They're probably worried sick about you."

"There are a couple reasons for that," he deadpans.

"Like?" asks Jürgen.

"Well if you know of the North, than I assume that you know that it has a _slight_ dragon problem."

Jürgen chuckles. "Yeah, you could say that it does."

"Well the dragons were too much; I wanted to leave with my life."

"That's too bad Hiccup, I'm sorry to hear that." He sounds genially sincere.

"Well leaving was made easier since I am an outcast in my village," says Hiccup sadly while looking down.

Jürgen walks in front of Hiccup and gets down, looking him in the eye. "I'm so sorry Hiccup, I didn't know."

"It's alright, it's not your fault."

Jürgen stands sticks his hand out. "I guess you're in need of a friend when you're over here."

Hiccup shakes it. "I'm in no rush to get back home; they probably haven't noticed that I'm gone." Jürgen walks in silence. The two have breached the tree line and are now headed towards the docks. "Speaking of dragons, what is it like down here for the dragon problem?"

Jürgen snorts quietly while walking back beside Hiccup. "Hiccup; there is no dragon problem here. Sure there is the odd dragon, but the people here don't mind." He pauses. "This might sound foreign to you but it was probably made possible because of a pair of dragon riders."

Hiccup's heart accelerates. "People who ride dragons?" says Hiccup excitedly. Jürgen nods. "That's so…"

"Absurd?" deadpans Jürgen.

"Awesome!" concludes Hiccup to the other man's surprise. "Have you met either of them?"

"No I haven't, the people here worship them as heroes. The dragon riders stop bandits from attacking our shores. It's almost impossible to meet one though, since no one knows who they are because they work under the cover of night."

"That's too bad." Hiccup looks around. "Jürgen I have a request for you."

"And what would that be Hiccup?" asks Jürgen.

"Could you be my translator? I want access to the forge near the tavern."

"Oh you're a blacksmith eh?"

"I was an apprentice back home," says Hiccup proudly.

"That's interesting Hiccup. You see, when I came here, I apprenticed under Brandon, the smith near the tavern like you described. Now I have my own forge, to which my girlfriend is my apprentice." Hiccup's eyes open widely. "If you're wondering if you could use my forge, the answer is yes. On the condition that you tell me what you need it for."

"If I'm going to live here for a while, I'm going to need some money. I was hoping to work for you."

"Ha, fair enough. Alright Hiccup follow me, my forge is on the other side of town."

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 4**

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 **Let me know in a review!**

 **You Are Awesome :)**


	5. ON HIATUS

**Hello My Readers**

 **I first want to start off by apologizing for this message, this is truly the last thing I wanted to do.**

 **However, I unfortunately have to put this story on a TEMPORARY HIATUS**

 **This does not mean that this story is over, or up for adoption. I just won't be uploading to it for an unknown period of time.**

 **Earlier this year, I thought it would be possible for me to write three individual stories. Unfortunately, I have surpassed my cognitive ability and I cannot handle the energy needed to do this.**

 **In addition to this, my mental illness is not helping me focus on this challenge either.**

 **I do want to complete this story, as I want to complete all my stories. As a new FanFiction writer, I had to learn this challenge the hard way.**

 **That being said, I will continue to write this story when More Than a Shadow is completed.**

 **I hope in doing this that the updates will be more frequent.**

 **I am sorry my readers. I feel like this is the best way, even though it hurts the most.**

 **I hope you understand.**

 **You Are Amazing, and I will see you all in the next chapter.**

 **Toothless-Nightfury96**


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